Ofsted says West Sussex children's services making 'slow progress'

The latest Ofsted report said slow progress was being made

Children's services in West Sussex have continued to improve, although progress in some areas is "too slow", inspectors have said.

Ofsted carried out its latest inspection in September, the fifth since the department was rated inadequate in 2019.

Inspectors focused on the quality of social work and child protection plans.

The council is "encouraged" to see progress being recognised, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

Inspector Tracey Scott said: "Senior leaders have a clear vision and practitioners are excited by the recent implementation of a social work practice model."

That practice model was blamed for a dip in performance in the spring, while challenges with the turnover of agency staff and the "relentless" recruitment of permanent social workers led to another dip in the summer.

'Quality variable'

The report said: "Some children are unallocated to a worker while awaiting an assessment, or during subsequent intervention, as a result of staff shortages."

It also said quality and impact of social work intervention was "variable".

"Too many children experience changes of social workers, and they are waiting too long for assessment and to receive the support that they need," it said.

Inspectors also said they saw "many examples of purposeful, creative direct work with children and their families" from social workers, while the feedback from youngsters who spoke to inspectors was "overwhelmingly positive".

Jacquie Russell, cabinet member for children & young people, said: "It's encouraging to see that Ofsted has recognised the progress we're making and highlighted areas where we need to maintain our focus."

She added 36 new social workers have been recruited, to begin work in January.

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